5 Easy Tips to Grow Your Reader Tribe

While at IBPA's Publishing University as FAPA's IBPA Scholarship recipient, I searched for easy tips to grow my reader tribe. Below are five tips I will be using, and I think you will too!

1. Instagram:

#bookstagram is a popular way readers share books on Instagram. Authors can share the "Story Behind the Story" by posting images that relate to characters' likes, products used, or locations within the book.

Examples:
Character Likes: Food, paint colors, furniture, etc.
Products Used: Vehicles, clothing, accessories, etc.
Locations: Australia, barns, monuments, etc.

2. Pinterest Boards:

Label Pinterest boards with interesting and relevant titles that relate to characters, products, or locations within the story. Within the board's pins include the book cover and supporting art about the book.

Examples:
Barns of Kentucky: tobacco barns, racehorse barns, and a book cover image of "Southern Barns."
Tasmanian Tigers: Tasmanian Tigers, Australian marsupials, and a book cover image of "Endangered Australian Marsupials."

3. End of the Book Call to Action:

A popular practice in print and eBooks is including a call to action at the end. Here are a three typical call to action items.

• Visit the author's website for beyond the book reading
• List all book titles within the series
• Include 1–3 sample chapter(s) of the next book in the series

4. Publishing Team:

Publishers host monthly conference calls with all their authors. Authors get to know one another, forming a team who mutually like, comment, and share each others' information. This practice raises awareness about their combined books.

5. Amazon Author Page:

Don't set an Amazon Author Page bio and forget it. Here are practices that build author tribes.

• Include a thank you message at the end of the author bio.
• Add "please follow me @SocialMediaSite" after the "thank you."
• Personally thank each Amazon book review received.
• Host an Amazon Giveaway requesting participants to like the author page.